Fluking has been a little better, with a few more keepers showing up in the bays and the ocean! Believe it or not, we would have to say we heard of more keepers caught in the bay this past weekend than in the ocean. For example, 6 year old Mickael Liebow weighed in a 7lb 4oz Fluke he caught in Seaford area on a live Killie! We had reports from Rowboat Alley, East Bay and Merrick Bay, with a few people catching their limit… yup… a limit caught in the Bay! The most popular Fluke Rigs are still anything white, like the Pro Series Bucktail rig or the Pro Series Squid Skirt rig, the 568 Hi-Low Rig and the 559 Bucktail rig… to name a few. Spearing and Squid remain the more popular baits but Killies have caught their share too. More and more people are adding one of the Gulp baits to their Fluke rigs too… ESPECIALLY the 4″ Swimming Mullets. People who NEVER vary from their real bait are starting to buy this stuff and making comments like “hey, this stuff really does work”. All we can say is that we told ya so! We’ve said this a number of times this season, but these things WORK. The Sandeels and the Strip Baits are selling like mad too!

In the ocean it sounds like the keeper ratio is better, not great, but better than it was. Sounds like the deeper you go, the better the ratio has been. We’ve heard of Fluke caught as shallow as 20 feet of water and as deep as 90 feet. Slightly West of Jones Inlet seems better than anywhere to the East… unless you go WAY East… like East of Fire Island Inlet. The larger baits like Sandeels, whole Squid and the Peruvian Smelts seem to work well in the ocean, but it’s still hard to beat the Spearing. Like the Bay fisherman… LOTS OF GULP BAITS being used in the ocean too! The heavier jigs like Fluke Bullets, Thumper Jigs and Spro Bucktails seem to be the ticket in the ocean… especially if you have some kind of a teaser tied above it. Some of the more popular teasers these days are simple white or pearl teasers, the Capt. Bills Floaters and more and more people are using the small Spro Baby Bucktails for teasers now too.

Spoke with a charter captain, from Montauk, on the phone the other day and he reported that the fishing was GREAT…. BUT… hard to find the keepers there too. Rumor has it that there was some better fishing outside Shinnecock Inlet this past weekend and Moriches Bay has been on fire… probably the best keeper ration on the South Shore right now!

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Good news this past weekend, seems like Fluking has picked up a bit… both in the bay and in the ocean. When we say “picked up” we mean that there seems to be a slightly better keeper to short ratio. There are still plenty of Fluke around, and it’s still not easy to catch the 20.5″ fish but this past weekend saw more keepers than in past weeks. Limits of keepers are few and far between though.

In the bay, there was some steady action around the Loop Parkway bridge in Swift Creek, Reynold Channel in Point Lookout, the South end of Haunts Creek and a few from inside Merrick Bay. For baits, still hard to beat Spearing and Squid but some people who have been targeting bigger fish have been using larger strip baits as well. Baits like Sea Robin strips, Mackerel Strips and whole peanut bunker. One thing that people are buying faster than we can stock are the Berkley Gulp Alive 4″ Swimming Mullets in White. The Fluke seem to REALLY like these baits and our sales have proven it!! We sold more white Fluke rigs recently than any other color, so keep that in mind. Rigs like the Pro Series Bucktail rig, Fin Strike 558 in white and the Fin Strike 568 in white…. were all nearly empty pegs this morning .so what does that tell ya?

In the Ocean, sounds like anywhere between 40 and as much as 80 feet of water are holding Fluke. Due South of our inlet and a bit West has been the most consistent action. Same story on baits though… Spearing and Squid, whole Squid and large strip baits are the deal. The ocean fishing seems a bit better using jigs though. Fluke Bullets, Thumper Squid Jigs and the larger Spro Bucktails… ALL with teasers above them… are the way to go. Those new Captain Bills Floating Teasers have been producing well for those using them as teasers above the jigs! For sizes, it depends on the conditions but we wouls say on average you’re looking at 4 to 8 ounce jigs.

Once the Snappers show up we should see some better results too… live Snappers are like Fluke CANDY!

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Sort of the same story… still. Plenty of fish but hard to find the ones big enough to keep. The short to keeper ratio seems to be about 1 keeper per 50 fish… yes FIFTY FISH.

If you just want to feel the rod bend, Fluke fishing seems to be the way to go. There have been Fluke caught through out the bay and now there seems to be a good ocean bite as well. Some of the better reports from in the bay are coming from places like Swift Creek, the North East side of the big Meadowbrook, the east side of the second Wantagh, but there are fish just about anywhere you want to go.

In the ocean it sounds like the best fishing has been in 50 to as much as 80 feet of water and it appears that the deeper you go, the more keepers there are. Not that there are THAT many more, but more than up shallow. Due south to a little West of Jones Inlet is where most people are finding the Fluke and we’re hearing of a few fish east of Fire Island Inlet now too.

Had one report yesterday about a limit of 20.5″ fish IN THE BAY, but the guy wouldn’t say where… I guess I can’t blame him. But there are keepers in the bay… not easy to find, but there in there somewhere.

Sounds like the fishing out east has been slowly improving. We’ve had customers who fished on the party boat “Rosie” and had some good fishing. Also sounds like Montauk is better than it has been too.

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Again, good news and bad news.

Good news? There are plenty of Fluke around, both in the bay and in the ocean.

Bad News? Still very hard to find the 20.5″ keepers.

Inside the bay, there have been plenty of fish around, from the inlet to as far back as Massapequa Cove.  Fish in the 19 to 20″ size are not uncommon, at least making it fun to catch some really nice sized Fluke… unfortunately you just can’t keep them. Spearing and Squid are still one of the best ways to go but the Sandeels, whole Squid and Peruvian Smelts are probably responsible for the bigger ones. Some people have been creative and using adjustable, two hook rigs for baits like Sea Robbin strips and Herring and other larger baits too, and they have been doing well on those larger baits too. If you’re just looking to go out and have something pull on the end of the line, this is the way to do it. Lots of action lately!

Danny V and George, from the shop, made a trip during the week out to Mattituck, to fish aboard the party boat “Capt. Bob”. They had a wonderful day on a great boat but they said the fishing was slow, with about 8 keepers for 40 or so people and about the same number of short fish released. It may be a little early for that area though because that can be some GREAT fishing out that way! They were using 4 and 6 ounce SPRO bucktails with a variety of teasers above the bucktails. However, when they got back to work and saw the new Braid Thumper Jigs they immediately wanted to back out there with THOSE jigs!!!

Glenn, from the shop, fished on his boat the “Kerrie Lee” over the weekend and stayed local. They fished in the ocean, around the “Middle Grounds”, in 65 feet of water, and had some terrific Fluke action but same old story…. ONE KEEPER. They said in total they had around 40 to 50 18 to 20″ fish, with only ONE 20.5″ keeper. Glenn and the crew were using Fluke Bullets tipped with GULP Swimming Mullets and GULP Shrimp, and teasers above the bullets for most of their action. Captain Glenn is NOW a believer in the GULP products…LOL!

Heard through the grapevine that the fishing has been improving to the east though… places like the Peconics, Greenport, Shinnecock and Montauk all seemed to have some better fishing these past couple days. Probably because the water is finally starting to warm up to where it should be.

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Well…. good news and bad news. Good news first, LOTS of fish around. Fluking seems better in the bay than in the ocean right now with good reports coming in from Swift Creek, Merrick Bay, the State Channel and Haunts Creek.

BUT, bad news…. VERY difficult to get the 20.5″ keeper. Sounds like no shortage of 19 and 20 inch fish but not too many ligit keepers around. We’re hearing this same story from all over Long Island. Seems to be a few more larder fish to the East, like Mattituck, Montauk and even Shinnecock…. but again, many shorts.

We keep suggesting to our customers, to FISH FOR THE BIG ONES. Big baits, live baits and big lures and fish the spots where the bigger ones are likely to be.  Holes, rips and structure… all with alot of current will tend to hold the bigger ones around here. You’ll be fishing for fewer bites… but better bites.

We know the new regs SUCK, but there ARE keepers out there, so keep trying and just enjoy fishing. Try to enjoy the experience more than the reward… catch and release and maybe one day we’ll get some better regs and this will be a thing of the past!!

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Fluking has been GREAT…. but tough. As far as action goes, there is plenty of it. There are planty of Fluke around to keep the rods bent but it is very difficult to put a keeper in the boat. With the new 20 1/2″ size limit, people are catching all the 19 and 20 inch fish they want but the keepers are few and far between. SOOOOO many people are complaining about having to throw back a THREE POUND FLUKE because it’s “short”. All we can say is WRITE YOU LOCAL LEGISLATOR and BE HEARD!

BUT, for those that are fishing, they ARE catching. As crazy as it sounds it seems that there are more fish in the bay right now than in the ocean. Some of the better reports are coming from Reynolds Channel (by the golf coarse), Swift Creek and Merrick Bay. Squid and Spearing are always reliable and many people are trying (and LIKING) the Berkley Saltwater Gulp baits too. We completely sold out of the Gulp Shrimp and the 5″ Sandeel this past weekend, so what does that tell you?

The Fin-Strike Pro Series rigs have been the most popular rigs lately too… especially the the rig with the pearl flash… people are buying this one by the dozen!

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Fluke fishing has started off on the right foot! We have been hearing of some pretty decent fishing in the bay’s, with a fair amount of 20.5″ keepers too. Our better reports seem to be coming from areas like Swift Creek, Merrick Bay and Reynolds Channel, to name a few. The ocean has been a little too nasty for anyone to try outside, but with the reports we’re getting… there doesn’t sound like a need to go outside!

Yesterday, we weighed in a real nice Fluke for Ed Bloom… a 7.72 pound fish he caught in Swift Creek. Check out the “Fishing Pictures” Category for a picture!

For bait, Squid and Spearing are catching as always, but now that we have a REDICULOUS, 20 1/2″, size limit we would recommend using larger baits for the larger fish. Baits like Peruvian Spearing, Sand Eels and whole California Squid can be very productive!

Also, try some of the artificials like the Gulp Squid, Gulp Sandeels for example. Also, Tsunami makes a really hot looking Squid rig too!

Good Luck and feel free to e-mail us your pictures and reports, we would love to post then here on our Blog!

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As far as we know, The New York State DEC has not implemented any new regulations. The “PROPOSED” regulation is as follows:

Season = May 15th (05-15-08) to September 1st (09-01-08).

Size Limit = 20 1/2″

Bag Limit = 4 Fish

We know…. what a shame. Our Fisheries “Managers” are pathetic… we all know it, but legally we’re stuck with it.

However, we’re hearing of quite a few Fluke being caught accidentally by people who are Bass fishing, Flounder fishing, Weakfish fishing and bottom fishing around the bridges. This is a good sign! We had one customer tell us this morning that he was using a 007 diamond jig in the inlet yesterday, chasing the Blues, and caught (and released) a 24″ Fluke. That’s a REALLY nice fish! The commercial Rod and Reel season has been open for a few weeks now and we know that those guys have been pounding the fish in the bay since their season opened… so we know they are around!

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